Rescued from thin ice, one lucky Long Island dog may soon need a warm home after a dramatic rescue on Long Island.

"Our job is to save lives," said deputy fire chief Chris Pisani. "And to me, that's a life."

The life Pisani and 30 volunteers from the Manhasset-Lakeville fire department saved last Sunday was that of a Korean Jindo dog. was a two hour fight for life these firefighters won't soon forget.

"That dog had a will to live," said firefighter Alex Rydzewski.

The white, female dog had wandered into traffic on the Northern state parkway in Lake Success, near the Nassau county/Queens border.

The animal was hit by two cars, according to an eyewitness, before she limped onto a partially frozen pond alongside the roadway.

Injured and afraid, the dog wandered across the pond, literally surrounded by thin ice.

"She saw that some parts were softer than others and obviously didn't want to fall through," said firefighter Sean Dolan.  

To protect themselves and get to the dog, Dolan and his colleagues relied on "mustang" ice suits and inflatable rafts; but it still took them over two hours to corral the petrified animal.

"She just wouldn't come to us," said Chief Pisani.

"Everybody was whistling, clapping, trying to do whatever they could to get the dog; but she was so scared."

The rescuers even tried dry dog food and tranquilizer darts (shot and missed) to subdue the dog; but only when firefighters and Nassau Police surrounded her in a corner of the pond did the chase end.

The dog is now at the North Hempstead animal shelter.  She was wearing no identification tags when captured and a veterinarian who examined the dog Tuesday found no ID chip.  One firefighter speculated the dog had been abandoned by its owner. 

If no one claims the dog over the next few days, the Jindo will be put up for adoption.

For more information- call the shelter at 516/944-8220.